Dallas Cowboys

Projected Cap Space: -$37.7 million

Draft Picks: 8

• 1st (No. 12)
• 1st (No. 20, GB)
• 4th (No. 112)
• 5th (No. 150)
• 5th (No. 177, comp)
• 6th (No. 215, comp)
• 7th (No. 221, NYG)
• 7th (No. 225, KC)

Notable Free Agents: 

• WR George Pickens
• RB Javonte Williams
• S Donovan Wilson
• LB Kenneth Murray
• DE Sam Williams
• DE Dante Fowler
• DE Jadeveon Clowney
• K Brandon Aubrey (RFA)
• LB Jack Sanborn
• G Brock Hoffman (RFA)
• G T.J. Bass (RFA)
• RB Miles Sanders
• WR Jalen Tolbert
• S Juanyeh Thomas (RFA)

Top Three Needs

1 – Edge Rusher

As the list of pending free agents makes clear, the Cowboys will have work to do at edge rusher. They had a pretty even rotation with second-rounder Donovan Ezeiruaku leading the way at 54 percent of the snaps. He and situational rusher James Houston are the only ones on the roster for 2026, though.

Williams, Clowney and Fowler rounded out the group, in that order, and all three are on expiring deals. Clowney paced the team with 8.5 sacks despite playing just a third of the snaps. Fowler was also down around a third of the snaps, and while his pressure metrics painted a better picture, he had just three sacks. Williams is a former second-rounder who missed the entire season with a torn ACL and had just one sack while eating a lot of early-down snaps. One or two of these players could be back depending on how things develop but the Cowboys will still have work to do to fill out the room. 

Oh yeah, and they still need to find some semblance of a replacement for Micah Parsons after trading him away on the eve of last season. 

2 – Secondary

It would have been easier and probably just as accurate to list “defense” as a need for the Cowboys, as they could use help at all three levels. The need is starker in the secondary, though. They bring back DaRon Bland at cornerback and are hoping for a healthy season from him.

Outside of that, the other two spots are up in the air. They have recent draft picks Shavon Revel and Caelen Carson who will compete at outside corner, and third-year UDFA Reddy Steward who settled in as the slot corner last year. Given how much the secondary as a whole struggled in 2025, though, it would be surprising if the Cowboys didn’t pursue serious competition. 

At safety, Wilson is on an expiring contract and his running mate Malik Hooker is a potential cap cut for a Cowboys team that needs to clear a lot of space. Both players are on the older end as well. It remains to be seen what exactly new Cowboys DC Christian Parker is looking for from his safeties, but there’s a good chance Dallas has some new faces here in 2026. 

3 – Right Tackle

Dallas’ offense will be in good shape, especially if the team retains Pickens as expected. Running back is up in the air but there are several solid backs slated for free agency, so it’s a good time to be a buyer. Just some light maintenance elsewhere is needed with an eye toward the future. Starting RT Terence Steele will be 29 next year and is under contract, but depending on how deep the cuts need to go, he’s a potential cap casualty. He also lost what had previously been an ironclad hold on the starting job. 

Steele remains a solid tackle and those are harder to find than not, but it would behoove the Cowboys to start thinking ahead here. They could need a replacement for Steele as soon as this season if things break a certain way. 

One Big Question

Can the defense hold up its part of the bargain? 

Last year, the Cowboys’ offense was good enough to make the playoffs. Dallas finished No. 2 in total offense and seventh in scoring, as well as second in success rate. New HC Brian Schottenheimer proved a solid play-caller, even if having guys like QB Dak Prescott, WR CeeDee Lamb and Pickens made his life easy. 

But for as good as Dallas’ offense was, it was counterbalanced by a defense that was even worse. The Cowboys scored 471 points last season and gave up 511, the worst scoring defense in football. They were last in success rate allowed at a 51 percent clip, last in passing yards allowed, second-to-last in defensive penalties and 30th in yards allowed. 

It’d be easy to blame owner Jerry Jones for the Parsons trade, which robbed the defense of one of the best pass rushers in football right before the season. Parsons wouldn’t have made the defense a top-ten unit by himself but the Cowboys were just a couple of games out of a playoff spot at 7-9-1. Even a small boost to the low 20s or high teens in defense may have made a difference. To Jones’ credit, though, the Cowboys shockingly led the entire NFL in defensive pressure rate at 31.2 percent, better than the Seahawks, Texans, Broncos, you name it. 

They converted that to just 35 sacks, bottom third in the league. Parsons’ absence is felt there but that also speaks to the inability of former DC Matt Eberflus to marry coverage and pass rush, which is why he’s gone. His replacement, Parker, will be trying to replicate the success his former team, the Eagles, has had in the last few years. 

Fortunately for the Cowboys, it’s a lot easier to make quick turnarounds on defense. If they can maintain most of their success on offense — and at this stage, most of the key pieces there are expected back — then they can invest significant resources into improving the defense to a respectable level.

Where it goes from there is anyone’s guess, but Jones gambled big by trading Parsons last fall, and has a lot of personal stake in proving he isn’t crazy.